Report of the NOAA Fisheries Cetacean Species in the Spotlight Health Assessment Workshop: June 25-26, 2024, Seattle, Washington

In June 2024, NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Regional Office (WCR) hosted a Species in the Spotlight (SIS) Health Assessment Workshop to discuss health assessment of three SIS cetaceans: Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca, SRKW), North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis, NARW), and Cook Inlet beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas, CIBW). The workshop brought together scientists and managers from state and federal government agencies, independent research institutions, nonprofit organizations, and universities working in the United States and Canada to discuss marine mammal health assessment with a focus on tools that can be used to investigate the causes of high mortality and low fecundity that are impeding recovery for these three endangered and declining species. The primary goal was to facilitate cross-species discussions on the status of current research, identify information needed to better support population management, and discuss how to overcome the challenge of quantifying health in free-swimming cetaceans using minimally invasive approaches.